The Los Angeles Times published a grim tale of someone who got trapped in the Kafkaesque world occupied by those on the infamous ‘no fly list’.
For two weeks, Rehan Motiwala, a 29-year-old medical student from Pomona, sat stranded at the Bangkok airport, sleeping for 10 nights on a roach-infested mattress in a dank, windowless detention room reserved for deportees. [Read more…]
The Guardian reveals how software companies secretly gave access to the NSA to their customers’ information. What is revealed includes things such as:
By necessity I have become somewhat of a connoisseur of how the government manipulates the media and public opinion. One of the things that I have repeatedly emphasized is their technique of, whenever they are caught doing something wrong or criminal or even merely embarrassing, they immediately put out an alternative and more sensational story that is meant to shift the focus the discussion away from what they got caught doing. [Read more…]
The biggest waste of wars lies in the loss of human lives, not to mention the trauma that war inflicts on those who have to live through it. But in addition, wars also waste immense amounts of money that could have been so much better used to improve the lives of the people in those countries made their lives so much better. Instead, wars destroy what infrastructure they have so the people in war-torn countries are harmed in multiple ways. [Read more…]
One of the odd things about the state of politics is that the views of politicians almost always lag behind that of the voters since it takes time to throw out an incumbent who longer represents the views of his or her constituency. But usually the views of voters on major issues change slowly enough over time that this discrepancy is not glaring [Read more…]
It looks like 2014 will see a ballot initiative in Ohio that seeks to repeal the 2004 constitutional amendment that was passed by referendum to ban same-sex marriage in the state. You can learn more about the ballot initiative and how to support it here. The text of the issue to be put to the vote is here. [Read more…]
The chances of comprehensive immigration reform being passed by the US Congress have waxed and more recently waned with splits clearly emerging as various factions within the Republican party have struggled to decide whether it is a good thing or not. [Read more…]
The latest revelations by Edward Snowden reveal that German chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of western European nations who expressed such concern at revelations of the NSA spying on their citizens were lying, playing roles to suggest that they are working for the benefit of their own people when in fact they are conniving with the US. [Read more…]
On the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO), a fairly small group of people held a rally in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi. They were stunned when tens of thousands of anti-gay protestors attacked them, breaking through the ranks of the police and assaulting the people at the rally. [Read more…]
If Edward Snowden is causing problems for liberals and Democrats because of what his revelations say about president Obama, Glenn Greenwald’s role as his main chosen conduit has increased their discomfiture. Greenwald has become a thorn in the side of liberals and Democrats because of his unsparing criticisms of the actions of the Obama administration . The problem is that even the most loyal supporters of Obama have difficulty countering his criticisms because they are based on facts and reasoned analysis. So, as often happens, when you cannot criticize on content, you shift your criticisms to style and tone. Greenwald used to be good, they say regretfully, and he still says some good things but the problem is that he has become much more rigid and shrill and this undermines his message. [Read more…]